While a compressor of an air-conditioning apparatus is stopped, a state where lubricating oil in the compressor has dissolved in a refrigerant in the compressor, called a “stagnation state”, occurs in some cases. Since the lubricating oil has dissolved in the refrigerant in the stagnation state, poor lubrication may be caused in the compressor.
As an approach to suppressing the stagnation of a refrigerant, an air-conditioning apparatus has been proposed which includes a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a solenoid valve disposed between the compressor and the outdoor heat exchanger, and a temperature-controllable expansion valve (see Patent Literature 1, for example).
Additionally, an operation control device for an air-conditioning apparatus has been developed which permits a refrigerant to be stored in a receiver tank, an indoor heat exchanger, and an outdoor heat exchanger before a compressor is stopped (see Patent Literature 2, for example).